BY LAURI HARVEY KEAGLE, Times of Northwest Indiana
lkeagle@nwitimes.com
Jill Haas spends close to four hours a day commuting to her job in Chicago.
The Crown Point woman knows she could have more time for herself and her family if she worked closer to home, but for her, commuting to Chicago on the South Shore is worth it.
"I'm making $10,000 to $15,000 more than I could make near home," Haas said. "You have to go to the city to make any money."
Haas is not alone.
George Smerk, the governor's appointment to the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District Board, said about two-thirds of South Shore passengers are women.
Smerk said the employment opportunities in Chicago drive a lot of the female ridership as well as the housing choices and quality schools in Northwest Indiana.
"There are many more employment opportunities in downtown Chicago, particularly for women," Smerk said.
"You have to have a reason to work in Indiana other than an economic one. What it means is Chicago dollars are now being imported to Indiana."
After the birth of her daughter six years ago, Haas took a three-year hiatus from working downtown. When she wanted to get back into the work force, the career paths she tried locally -- including bartending and going to school to become a certified nurse's assistant -- weren't paying the bills.
So she went back to her job at a brokerage firm in Chicago.
"In this day and age, if you're married and want a nice home and to be able to do things with your kids and your family, you have to have two incomes," Haas said.
Haas said a lot of her female friends in Northwest Indiana couldn't understand why she wouldn't work closer to home.
"I have a couple of friends who are stay-at-home moms, which is all fine and dandy if your husband has a really good job," Haas said.
"I know some women who have never worked a day in their lives and I tell them that if something happened to their husbands, they'd be" in deep trouble.
Haas rides the train with her friend Kristen Roberts of Portage. Roberts has been commuting to her job as a legal secretary in Chicago for three years.
"I can't get the pay out there I get out here," Roberts said. "I used to work in Indiana for a stockbroker, but I couldn't get the pay like I can get in Chicago. There's at least a good $10,000 to $15,000 difference."
Unlike Haas, Roberts is single and doesn't have the pressures of being a working mom. Still, the hours spent commuting can get to her, despite the higher pay that comes with working in the city.
"It's worth it, but some times it gets frustrating," Roberts said. "In the summer, when it's nice out, I just want to get home."
Jean Phelps, franchise owner of Express Personnel Services in Valparaiso, said she knows the lure of higher Chicago salaries draw some women from the region.
"I think there is an attraction and a mystique with going to the city to see what that scene is like and to go to the stores on your lunch hour and things like that," Phelps said.
Often, the commute brings women back to working closer to home, she said.
"We have a lot of experience with a lot of legal secretaries," Phelps said.
"A lot of them get tired of the commute and try to find something here. It's really a lifestyle decision and whether or not you're comfortable with riding the train day in or day out."
Encouraged by new development in the region, Phelps believes higher paying jobs are coming here.
"I firmly believe as a community leader and someone who sees a vision for Northwest Indiana that you want people to live where they work and work where they live," Phelps said.
"Some of our economic development leaders here are very young and are sticking around, because they see the potential here, as do I. I'm really encouraged by that. They see companies coming here and staying here and bringing jobs with them and that's a real plus."